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Versatile trio of Butte College soccer players sign at NCAA level

BUTTE VALLEY — The Butte College men’s soccer team has now had seven players transfer to the four-year level from its team, which finished runner up in the California Community College Athletic Association state championship. The latest to do so are Hayden Teixeira, Marco Arduino and Tommaso Duri. Teixeira signed with Division II Harding University, […]

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Versatile trio of Butte College soccer players sign at NCAA level

BUTTE VALLEY — The Butte College men’s soccer team has now had seven players transfer to the four-year level from its team, which finished runner up in the California Community College Athletic Association state championship.

The latest to do so are Hayden Teixeira, Marco Arduino and Tommaso Duri.

Teixeira signed with Division II Harding University, Arduino signed with NAIA Texas Wesleyan University and Duri signing with D-II Florida Southern College in a ceremony Friday at Butte College.

Roadrunners’ coach Ross Sandberg said the trio’s versatility stood out to coaches in the recruiting process.

Teixeira played six different positions for the Roadrunners his sophomore season, with Sandberg saying he possesses the skill to play striker, wing or center midfield at the next level. Arduino arrived to Butte College in 2023 and played left back, and as a sophomore he was moved to center defensive midfield and he received First-Team All Conference honors. Duri was a striker in 2023 as a freshman, and after spring practices and games he was moved to right back as a sophomore and received Second-Team All Conference honors.

“Their versatility and work ethic, our tradition of moving guys on, the reputation of Butte and me in being very honest about their level was all key,” Sandberg said. “These sophomores are graduating and moving on and have created such a legacy from this season that we have a target on our back as big as it’s ever been. The incoming freshman and freshman becoming sophomores next year understand how high the bar is.”

When the three players were asked why they chose the school they did, each player had a unique answer.

Arduino said he was looking to go to a school in a big city, and Texas Wesleyan offered him the chance to live in Dallas while still being able to play soccer at a high level. The school is also a nationally ranked school for his major — psychology.

For Duri his choice to play at Florida Southern was largely location-based as well.

“South Florida was a top place if I had to choose,” Duri said. “There’s sun all the time, and it’s closer to home. We can take direct flights back home to Europe and the jet leg is less, so that was a big part of it.”

For Teixeira he chose Harding in Arkansas because of the high level of soccer and his connection with the coach, but academics were important as well. Harding has a good computer science program that Teixeira will be majoring in.

All three players had unique stories on why they chose the schools they did, but all three players talked about the family culture Butte College gave them and how living alone for the first time helped them grow as people.

“It was a big step to come here to Butte because it’s the first time I lived by myself,” Arduino said. “I met all nice guys and a nice coach, and the main part is we are a family here at Butte.”

Teixeira shared similar comments, but also talked about what he learned in his time at Butte College.

“What I learned most is to stay dedicated and to keep working, because if you work hard then you’ll get the results,” Teixeira said. “In that postseason run we came up against some good opposition. It was really good to play against them and see the level and teams we don’t play against in our conference.”

Teixeira and Duri appeared in all 27 games for the Roadrunners, and Arduino appeared in 26 of 27 games after having to sit out one game due to too many yellow cards.

In their sophomore season Teixeira had five goals and six assists, Arduino scored three goals and had three assists, and Duri had one goal.

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5-at-10: College football QB1 tiers, first-round pick headed back to college football?, British Open happiness

Sign up for the daily newsletter, Jay’s Plays of the Day, to get sports betting recommendations for the top games of the night and the week ahead. QB1s Quarterbacks are different. They have to be prepared to deflect credit to lesser-heralded teammates in good times and lean into the criticism in downtimes. It’s frequently called the […]

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QB1s

Quarterbacks are different.

They have to be prepared to deflect credit to lesser-heralded teammates in good times and lean into the criticism in downtimes.

It’s frequently called the most important position in sports, and really only an elite fast-pitch softball pitcher or a red-hot NHL goalie can directly impact the success of an entire team as a truly great QB1.

And among the truths at the mid-July dog-and-pony show that is SEC Media Days, here’s what caught my eye.

› Hot seat coaches speak differently. It’s false confidence trying to hide the uneasiness.

› The NIL-funded jewelry worn by players who ventured to the A-T-L is flashy. Man, what do you think those watches and diamond-studded numerals the size of mini-hubcaps on those necklaces list for?

› The SEC is flush with some big-time QB1s this year.

The Athletic dropped a quarterback tier ranking for all 136 FBS football programs.

There are 10 in tier 1, and half of them were at SEC media days with LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier at 1, South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers at 3, Oklahoma’s John Mather at 4, Florida’s DJ Lagway at 5 and Texas’ Arch Manning at 10.

Somewhat surprising was the ranking — based on interviews with more than 40 college coaches and scouts — for projected starters Ty Simpson at Alabama and Gunner Stockton at Georgia.

Simpson was in Tier 4 and 47 overall, and Stockton was in the same tier and one spot back at 48.

UT’s projected starter Joey Aguilar was ranked 60th, and former UT starter Nico Iamaleava was ranked in the top-20 at 19.

Thoughts?

College football craziness

Yeah, that feels assuredly redundant in our current climate.

And no, this had nothing to do with the lunacy at SEC Media Days, either.

(Side tangents: Check out the daily stuff at Southeastern16 as we chop up the SEC media event each day at noon. Also, Brent Venables seemed extremely excited about his Oklahoma roster in a make-or-break-year for him. And I think Billy Napier feels similarly about his Gators crew.)

No, the next frontier of the constantly changing college football landscape lives currently in College Station, Texas.

That’s where former A&M defensive lineman Shermar Stewart and a first-round pick by Cincinnati last spring is currently residing.

Stewart is in a bitter contract dispute with the Bengals and is working out with his former college team.

His agent now says they could possibly explore challenging the rules that forbid players who declare for the draft but not signing should be able to return to college.

While the idea has Aggies fans salivating — Stewart is a monster — the NFL CBA has language to the extent that Stewart’s draft rights would remain with the Bengals if he played another year in the SEC and re-entered the NFL draft in 2026.

So while Stewart could prompt monster rule changes, it looks like the NFL is already prepared not to have the draft manipulated by players returning to school.

Man, the NFL lawyers are crafty.

I wonder if they got Gary?

Morning glory

Got up too early this morning and eagerly found the British Open broadcast on the USA Network.

It’s almost 7 a.m. Eastern and the leaderboard is a mix between crowd favorites — Shane Lowry and Phil Mickelson were in red numbers — and “Who the heck is that guy?” Seriously, someone named J.S. Olesen is leading currently at 4 under. Forgot professional golfer, Jacob Slov Olesen sounds like one of Draco Malfoy’s henchmen in House Slytherin aiming to sabotage Harry Potter.

The course is diabolical.

The rain is on its way. The wind is twisting. The pints are flowing.

I have been blessed to attend more than a few cool sporting events, but on a bucket list that includes Super Bowls, decisive World Series games, the Masters, Olympic gold medal games in baseball and men’s hoops, Final Fours, the Kentucky Derby, the Indy 500 and more, the British Open is high on the list of things I have not done but would love to.

This and that

› So John Malkovich’s villain turn in “Fantastic Four” was cut. It also happened to Kevin Costner in “The Big Chill” as his character — the corpse that drew all those former college friends back together — was removed from the final cut.

› Braves did not lose. That’s a good thing, right?

› Auburn wide receiver Malcolm Simmons was arrested on domestic assault charges. Been a busy stretch for the AU athletics legal team — do they need to get Gary? — since point guard Tahaad Pettiford got pinched for a DUI and linebacker DJ Barker — no relation to Bob (that I am aware of) — was arrested on multiple drug charges last week.

› The ESPYs were last night. I did not watch. Here’s the list of winners. Heard Shane Gillis was a good host.

› Here’s Paschall with a report on Alabama Coach Kalen DeBoer heading into Year 2 with the Tide.

Today’s questions

It’s the ol’ AGT — Anything Goes Thursday — so fire away.

We’ll start with a couple for you:

› Which SEC QB1 do you wish was starting for your favorite team?

› Shouldn’t college football players be allowed to go back to school if they are unhappy with their draft position, like baseball players can?

› Did you watch any of The ESPYs?

As for today, July 17, let’s review:

Donald Sutherland would have been 90 today. What’s on a sneaky great Rushmore for Keifer’s old man?

Go, and remember the mailbag.



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Man who sent Facebook message about committing a 2013 campus sexual assault pleads guilty

GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than a decade after Shannon […]

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GETTYSBURG — An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 — and later sent her a Facebook message that said “So I raped you” — pleaded guilty Thursday.

Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than a decade after Shannon Keeler says he sneaked into her first-year dorm at Gettysburg College on the eve of winter break and assaulted her. Cleary’s guilty plea was the first time she’d seen him since the assault.

“I had been thinking about this moment for 12 years,” said Keeler, who clenched her husband’s hand as Cleary was led into court by deputies. She called it a surreal moment. A decade ago, a former prosecutor had declined the case.

“It’s taken a lot of twists and turns to get to this point,” said Keeler, now 30. “It took a lot of people doing the right thing to get us here.”

Judge Kevin Hess set an Oct. 20 sentencing date. The two sides proposed a four- to eight-year sentence, which the judge can accept or not.

Keeler, in interviews with The Associated Press, described her decade-long efforts to persuade authorities to pursue charges, starting hours after the assault.

She renewed the quest in 2021, after finding a series of disturbing Facebook messages from his account.

Cleary has been in custody since his arrest on minor, unrelated charges in Metz, France, in April 2024. A defense lawyer told the judge Thursday that Cleary experienced several mental health episodes there and was hospitalized around the time he sent the Facebook messages in 2019.

Cleary left Gettysburg after the assault and finished college in Silicon Valley, California, where he’d grown up. He then got a master’s degree and worked for Tesla before moving overseas, where he spent time writing medieval fiction, according to his online posts.

The AP published an investigation on the case and on the broader reluctance among prosecutors to pursue campus sex assault charges in May 2021. An indictment followed weeks later.

Authorities in the U.S. and Europe tried to track Cleary down for the next three years, but seemed unable to follow his trail, online or otherwise.

In court Thursday, defense lawyer John Abom said Cleary was homeless at times and unaware of the charges. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett on Thursday said he has his doubts, but cannot prove that Cleary was on the run, so it’s unlikely to be an issue at sentencing.

The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison. His family members have declined to comment on the case and have not attended his court hearings. Abom also declined to comment on Cleary’s behalf Thursday.

The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Keeler has done.

“I hope that we as a society, the institutions around us, can make truly successful legal outcomes more viable for victims,” she said after the plea.

“It starts with listening to victims and making sure their voices are heard,” she said, “even if the system’s slow to catch up.”



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16 Gusties Land on AHCA All-American Scholars’ List

Story Links GLOUCESTER, Mass. – The AHCA announced their All-American Scholars’ list on Thursday, July 17th and 16 Gusties made the grade.  To qualify, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.75 GPA for each semester, and had to appear in 40% of the team’s games. Exceptions were granted to injured […]

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GLOUCESTER, Mass. – The AHCA announced their All-American Scholars’ list on Thursday, July 17th and 16 Gusties made the grade. 

To qualify, a student-athlete must have attained a 3.75 GPA for each semester, and had to appear in 40% of the team’s games. Exceptions were granted to injured players and back-up goaltenders. Schools also were required to be members of the AHCA. The names of 1,123 Division II-III men (664) and women (459) were released today, their Division I counterparts being announced last week. 

On the men’s side, there were three recipients, fifth-year Jack Kubitz (Wayzata, Minn/Economics and Sociology), sophomore Jackson McCarthy (Buffalo, N.Y./Biology and Psychological Science), and junior Nate Stone (Edina, Minn./Business Management and Sport Management). 

On the women’s side, there were 13 recipients. Junior Margot Bettman (Chicago, Ill./Biology and Philosophy), sophomore Avery Braunshausen (Business Management and Sport Management), senior Abby Elliott (Lino Lakes, Minn./Exercise Physiology), junior Gianna Gasparini (Lakeville, Minn./Psychology), senior Hannah Gray (Stillwater, Minn./Biology Pre-PA), first-year Ellie Groebner (Apple Valley, Minn./Undecided), sophomore Emma Heyer (Shakopee, Minn./Elementary Education), first-year Eva Nelson (Buffalo, Minn./Biology), fifth-year Brooke Power (Lakeville, Minn./Exercise Physiology), first-year Kaitlin Roberts (Edina, Minn./Biology Pre-Med), junior Grace Schuck (Bloomington, Minn./Business Management), sophomore Kylie Scott (Dayton, Minn./Biology Pre-Med), and junior Kayla Woytcke (Waconia, Minn./Nursing).

Kubitz is the only repeat for the men, while Bettman, Braunhausen, Gray, Heyer, Power, and Woytcke repeated for the women. 

About The AHCA

The American Hockey Coaches Association was formed in May of 1947 in Boston, MA, by a handful of college coaches concerned about the game they loved. It has grown to include professional, junior, high school, and youth hockey coaches, as well as referees, administrators, sales representatives, journalists, and fans.

 



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The influx of CHL players means a ‘massive paradigm shift’ for college hockey, Air Force coach Frank Serratore says | Sports

Air Force hockey coach Frank Serratore is hoping trickle-down economics play in his favor.  The tenured Falcons coach enters what could be his most challenging season yet. Not only did the House v. NCAA settlement in June enable schools to pay athletes directly, but Canadian Hockey League players will be eligible to play NCAA hockey […]

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Air Force hockey coach Frank Serratore is hoping trickle-down economics play in his favor. 

The tenured Falcons coach enters what could be his most challenging season yet.

Not only did the House v. NCAA settlement in June enable schools to pay athletes directly, but Canadian Hockey League players will be eligible to play NCAA hockey for the first time in the fall. Air Force won’t benefit from either change.

U.S. citizenship is a requirement for entrance into a service academy and the majority of players in the CHL are Canadian-born. 

The hope is that with the Falcons’ opponents selecting players from the CHL in addition to players from American junior leagues, American players who don’t find a landing spot look to Colorado Springs to begin their collegiate careers.

“The only way we may benefit from this is the trickle-down effect. With all the other schools loading up with these Canadian junior players, it’s a supply-and-demand thing. Hopefully there’s gonna be more quality Americans available to us,” Serratore said. “Everybody else is getting deeper right now. There’s 60 CHL teams and there’s 63 college hockey teams, and all of a sudden you’ve got an entire league of 60 teams that all of a sudden saturates the collegiate hockey market.” 

Serratore characterized the addition of CHL talent as a “massive paradigm shift” for the sport. 

The NCAA Division I Council introduced that shift in November. The council voted that players who skated in one of the Canadian Hockey League’s three leagues — the Western Hockey League, the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League, and the Ontario Hockey League — could play in the NCAA this upcoming season, provided they were not compensated beyond necessary expenses before college.

Previously, CHL players were considered professionals and thus ineligible.

Serratore expects many CHL players to come through the NCAA in the future  because the collegiate landscape offers a chance to play against older competition. 

“College hockey is a men’s league. Unless you’re a Connor McDavid, one of those types of players, all the players now are going to be filtering through college hockey, CHL players included,” he said. “The CHL is a good league just like the USHL is but it’s still a junior league, it’s still a boys’ league.

“College hockey is a men’s league, and the agents, the NHL teams, they want these players playing college hockey because they know playing against men in college is going to prepare them for the NHL.”

Come next season, he expects some fanbases to be surprised when they look at their teams’ lineups given all the new faces.

The Falcons will face such a team in cross-town rival Colorado College on Oct. 11. As the battle for the Pikes Peak Trophy goes back to just a single game, the group of Tigers playing at Cadet Ice Arena will look very different compared to last season . CC had nine NHL draft picks on its roster last season, but six departed via the transfer portal, graduation or signing pro deals. However, the Tigers added a plethora of drafted players through their Western Hockey League recruits.

“Between the transfer portal and incoming freshmen from traditional junior leagues, CHL players, transfers from U Sports, some of these rosters are going to be unrecognizable for their fanbases in comparison to last year,” Serratore said.

The Air Force coach said just two or three players in the CHL were American-born and good enough academically to be a fit for the Academy but those players went elsewhere. 

Faced with the prospect of retirement after last season as his previous contract came to an end, Serratore chose to come back on a two-year deal in part due to the challenge of competing in this new environment. 

He enters his 29th season with the same positive attitude he’s always had. 

“The only thing we control as a staff are the same things that our players control and that’s your attitude and your effort level. Our staff has a got a great attitude,” he said.  “We’re going to continue to work as hard or harder than we’ve ever worked. It’s never been easy here at the Academy but it’s never been more difficult than it is right now.” 



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All Signs Point to Coachella Valley

While coaching goalies in college five years ago, Vince Stalletti and his wife, Matilda Miglio, visited Seattle from the East Coast ahead of boarding a cruise ship to Alaska. She bought a Kraken ballcap in town, unaware her husband would ultimately graduate to that squad’s AHL farm team a half-decade later following a highly successful […]

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While coaching goalies in college five years ago, Vince Stalletti and his wife, Matilda Miglio, visited Seattle from the East Coast ahead of boarding a cruise ship to Alaska. She bought a Kraken ballcap in town, unaware her husband would ultimately graduate to that squad’s AHL farm team a half-decade later following a highly successful stint at NCAA Division 1 University of Connecticut.

Stalletti was officially announced Tuesday as the new goalie coach of the Kraken’s Coachella Valley Firebirds affiliate.

“In her profile picture on my phone, Matilda is wearing that Kraken hat,” said Stalletti after an on-ice session during this month’s Kraken development camp. “I’ve been staring at it for five years. When I got the [Firebirds] job, she said, ‘You know, that’s the hat I’ve been wearing.’ What a coincidence.”

Hmm, coincidence? The great theoretical scientist Albert Einstein once said, “Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Another thinker of a different sort, Hall of Fame baseball catcher Yogi Berra, once said: “That’s too coincidental to be coincidence.”

Stalletti’s five stellar seasons with UConn certainly positioned him for a look this summer when the Firebirds needed a new goalie coach. That job opened when Colin Zulianello, who mentored Joey Daccord during his inaugural Coachella Valley season and resulting AHL Western Conference championship, was named Kraken goalie coach under new bench boss Lane Lambert.

This past season, Zulianello played a key role in breaking 2022 second-round draft pick Nikke Kokko, a netminder from Finland making his AHL debut, into a circuit bigger and more skilled than his prior Finnish pro stopover. The Kraken organization slow-played Kokko’s AHL rookie campaign by limiting his early game action while using practices and 1-on-1 work with Zulianello to get the 20-year-old better acclimated to heavier net front traffic and faster-paced play.

Kokko eventually played more and was named to the AHL All-Rookie Team while proving a clutch postseason performer.

As for Stalletti filling Zulianello’s prior Firebirds post, it wasn’t exactly a coincidence. The pair had met eight years prior when Stalletti was still coaching at UMass-Dartmouth ahead of his Connecticut run, and Zulianello knew pretty quickly this summer who might make a strong candidate to succeed him.

“I thank Colin (Zulianello) because he was the first one who reached out to me [about the position],” Stalletti said. “I met Colin years ago at a goalie conference. It was 2017. We were on the ice together. I didn’t know him well, but we connected.

“When he reached out, it was definitely a welcome surprise,” added Stalletti, who soon was contacted by Kraken GM Jason Botterill, Coachella Valley vice-president (hockey operations) Troy Bodie and Firebirds head coach Derek Laxdal.

“It happened pretty quick,” Stalletti said. “When I heard of the opportunity, I knew whoever would get this job would be fortunate to have it. I’m excited to be here and appreciative of the opportunity.”

Bodie said of Stalletti: “Vince is impressive and the perfect choice to join our coaching staff. He has a clear plan for goaltenders that aligns with our approach and proved successful in the NCAA.”



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Myers: Big money signings the latest twist in college hockey’s new world – InForum

At the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., Gophers coach Bob Motzko took questions before the tournament with future NHLers like Logan Cooley, Ryan Johnson and Jimmy Snuggerud flanking him. On that day, just over two years ago, Motzko was asked about how name, image and likeness money was affecting other college sports and […]

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At the 2023 NCAA Frozen Four in Tampa, Fla., Gophers coach Bob Motzko took questions before the tournament with future NHLers like Logan Cooley, Ryan Johnson and Jimmy Snuggerud flanking him. On that day, just over two years ago, Motzko was asked about how name, image and likeness money was affecting other college sports and how it might affect NCAA hockey in the future.

“Hockey is behind a little bit in the conversation,” Motzko said, perhaps inadvertently quoting Minnesota music legend Bob Dylan in his answer. “I think it’s going to be a conversation that’s going to heat up more and more in hockey over the next couple of years. We just don’t have that many teams compared to football and basketball. But it’s starting to heat up. And there are more discussions. You’re hearing million-dollar deals for football and basketball. Our players get burritos. But I think times are changing.”

It’s 27 months later. And the times have changed in a big, big way.

Gavin McKenna, a Canadian forward with eye-popping offensive numbers in major junior hockey, is 17 years old and projected by many experts to be the top overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Last week, he was reportedly offered $250,000 to attend Michigan State in the fall and skate for a Spartans team that returns one of the nation’s top goalies in Trey Augustine. The Spartans are a not-overly-risky bet to win the Big Ten’s first NCAA hockey title since an underdog Spartans team did it in 2007.

After visiting campus and mulling their official bid, McKenna handed Michigan State a polite ‘No thank you,’ and instead opted to skate for conference rival Penn State next season. That decision came after the Nittany Lions, who are coming off the program’s first Frozen Four appearance, were able to reportedly triple Michigan State’s monetary offer.

Over the past 15 years, the money game is the fourth seismic shift to hit the world of college hockey, which involves roughly 60 teams from Alaska in the West to Maine in the East and as far South as Arizona State’s rapidly emerging program.

The first came in 2010 when Terry Pegula, the billionaire owner of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres and the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, gave more than $100 million to his alma mater, Penn State, to build an arena that facilitated the Nittany Lions’ move from club to Division I hockey. That made for a half-dozen Big Ten schools with hockey programs (with the Nittany Lions joining Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Ohio State and Wisconsin). In short order, the Big Ten became the first Power Five conference to include hockey, and long-standing, hockey-only conferences like the Western Collegiate Hockey Association and the original Central Collegiate Hockey Association either disbanded or radically changed their membership.

The next two changes came in the past five years, as NIL meant, for the first time, college athletes could get paid for the use of their name, image and likeness without losing their NCAA eligibility.

While football and basketball players were receiving six-figure deals from the start, the immediate impact on hockey was players hosting summer hockey camps, websites giving players a few hoodies in exchange for the use of an athlete’s name, and the aforementioned free burritos, with the Mexican chain Chipotle signing several Gophers skaters to endorse their food.

With the money offered to top players skyrocketing, there seems to be a movement afoot in Dinkytown to get the Gophers more involved in that game. Last month, social media posts were sent and a bare-bones website went live announcing the Golden Helmet Collective, which is lacking detail but seems to be the start of a hockey-specific effort to raise NIL money for future Gophers.

The opening of the transfer portal allowed players to move from one program to another without having to sit out or lose eligibility. This brought de facto free agency to college hockey, where smaller schools are now routinely losing their top players to bigger schools after a year or two.

One coach in Atlantic Hockey America, which is home to mid-major programs like Air Force, Bentley, Mercyhurst and Robert Morris, compared their conference to a shopping center, where many of the six players named to the AHA all-rookie team one season are likely to be playing in the Big Ten or Hockey East by the time they’re sophomores.

The Gophers have been sporadic but effective users of the transfer portal, bringing in players like NHL first-rounder Matthew Wood from Connecticut and goalie Liam Souliere, who backstopped much of last season’s Big Ten title run, from Penn State.

In November 2024, a lawsuit prompted the NCAA to allow players from Canadian major junior leagues to maintain college hockey eligibility, which had not been the case for the past four decades or so. Because major junior players often receive a stipend of a few hundred dollars per month for living expenses, they were long considered professionals in the eyes of the NCAA. So, in 2012, when current Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman, who was committed to play college hockey at Miami of Ohio, went to play for a major junior team instead, his NCAA eligibility disappeared.

The opening up of major junior players to college recruitment has meant a windfall of new talent available to NCAA programs. McKenna is just the latest player from the Canadian leagues to pack for a home on campus in the fall, with Wild prospect Ryder Ritchie (Boston University), defenseman Benjamin Vigneault (Bemidji State), defenseman Henry Mews (Michigan), left winger Blake Montgomery (Wisconsin), defenseman Ethan Armstrong (Minnesota State Mankato), left winger Nathan Piling (St. Thomas), defenseman Grayden Siepmann (Minnesota Duluth) and center Cayden Lindstrom (Michigan State) all moving from major junior to college hockey in the fall.

North Dakota, which is a program in transition after a coaching change in the spring, landed two of the top players from the Victoria (B.C.) Royals, center Cole Rischny and defenseman Keaton Verhoeff.

McKenna made his future Nittany Lions announcement live on ESPN SportsCenter, in a move reminiscent of LeBron James and his infamous, nationally-televised “Decision” from 2010. While some decried the big-money signing as an omen of college hockey’s demise, others noted that having the sport covered on national TV in the middle of the summer, and attracting the top young talent on ice, at least for one season, is a net positive, even as the sport goes through yet another recent change.

Whatever your personal opinion, it’s clear that the future of college hockey has arrived. And for programs large and small to attract and keep the game’s best players, more than burritos will be required.

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